Obsessively consumes information about information so you don't have to.

Tag: LIS education

What?

The 2015 Symposium on LIS Education is a two day student-led event, facilitated by LIS students, for LIS students. The Symposium will bring together students, LIS educators, and practitioners to critically examine current practices in LIS education programs. As a group, participants will identify and brainstorm solutions to current challenges facing LIS education.

The School of Informatics and Computing at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis is hosting a MOOC on Public Library User Experience that sounds pretty interesting.

The objectives of the course are:

Students completing the Customer Service Module will be able to:

Identify overarching principles that guide high quality public library service.

Describe trending options for experiences and spaces in your library that engage patrons and create a third place or refuge for the public.

Recognize the need for ongoing staff training that can build relationships and keep a safe environment for learning.

Demonstrate awareness of the diversity in audiences and the techniques available to reach out and provide great service.

Recognize the importance of programming as a commitment to library customer service that will create experiences beyond patron expectations.

Students completing the Youth Programming module will be able to:

To become aware of the past, present and potential future of library services for children and young adults.

To develop skills in assessing needs and utilizing goals and objectives to plan services and programs, and in evaluating services and programs.

To build specific programs appropriate for various age groups and to observe and conduct model programs in real settings.

To become aware of the potential of technology as well as other media in providing information services, in meeting educational needs, and in promoting total literacy.

To develop a philosophy of service for youth.

Students completing the Technology module will be able to:

Describe the basic library system components (OPAC, Circulation, Cataloging, Acquisitions, Serials) and how they serve us.

Identify current Discovery Systems and evaluate their impact on the traditional catalog for library users.

Show familiarity with technology standards (from MARC to OAI-PMH) that make a library work.

Understand how inventory control works with barcode/RFID technologies to ensure that both staff and library users can find what they want — and keep it safe.

Recognize basic networking strategies for cabled and for wireless access along with management and security concerns for all users.

Demonstrate awareness of current and upcoming library technologies and place these technologies in context for the public library community.

Students completing the Community Engagement module will be able to:

Identify community issues and challenges, including illustrating an area where community engagement is lacking and would be beneficial.

Describe the role their public library can play in identifying and addressing the issue.

Recognize the types of relevant community partners that can help support and enhance a community engagement project.

Describe and assess potential community engagement methods based on an analysis of community need and available resources.

Create a plan of action for their public library to take when implementing a community engagement project.

Evaluate the steps, resources, and knowledge needed to set the community engagement plan into action.

I had to learn more about how they combined subjects in the School of Informatics and Computing. Apparently it is the first program like this in the US and it combines computing, social science, and information systems. Fascinating! With the Rutgers School of Communication and Information recently dropping “Science” and calling the degree a Master of Information, we are probably going to see many changes like this in the way we define an education in information.

Anyway, this MOOC sounds interesting. You can enroll for the course here.